[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by manmohanmaan

Hey All,
been through this thread over the past two days and have gone through various updates since 2012. I have a similar quandary as Judemayne. Am travelling from Bangalore to Siliguri with planned night stops at Rajahmundry, Kharagpur and third night at Siliguri.

Had thought it best to skip Calcutta as it will eat into my travel time which I would rather spend in the Sikkim and Bhutan which are the destination.

So I planned Kharagpur - Bankura - Ranigunj - Suri - Dumka - Bhagalpur - Purnia and join NH 34 at Dalkhola. Planned with the suggestions on this thread and tracked on google maps.

I will be traveling in a SUV with a overhead Lugguage Box (Thule) which increases the height of the vehicle substantially.

is this OK ? Any suggestions on Better Hotels in Kharagpur ?

Regards.

Manmohan.

Bad idea to go via Bankura, I would stick to the wonderful 4-laned expressways through Calcutta.

Kharagpur does not have any good hotels. If you leave from Rajahmundry, you could stay at either Bhadrak (after Bhubaneswar, before Baleswar - also because you have some bad roads between Baleswar & Kharagpur) or better still, make it to Calcutta where you can stay in a hotel like Midway (Sonar Bangala) at Dhulagori just before Howrah/Calcutta on the highway itself.

[Carcrazy60]

Sikkim is having heavy rains now. The road to Darjeeling has been badly affected.

[manmohanmaan]

Hey HVK Ji,

Thanks for the quick reply. Will not argue with your route directions. Guess I will now have to revert to my old plan of Bangalore - Vijayawada - Puri - Calcutta. I am travelling with my parents who are well past their 70 and a nephew just below 7, together they are a combustible combination, so may not be up to two 1000 Kms dashes on two consecutive days. Sir have three more questions for you please.

1. Is the East Coast Road up to Calcutta comparable to NH 8 in terms of traffic and condition ?

2. Will entering and exiting Calcutta not cost me time, is it not better to bye-pass this behemoth ?

3. Would you recumbent NH 34 or the Dumka - Purnia route post Calcutta ?

Thank you once again,

regards,

Manmohan.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by manmohanmaan

Hey HVK Ji,

Thanks for the quick reply. Will not argue with your route directions. Guess I will now have to revert to my old plan of Bangalore - Vijayawada - Puri - Calcutta. I am travelling with my parents who are well past their 70 and a nephew just below 7, together they are a combustible combination, so may not be up to two 1000 Kms dashes on two consecutive days. Sir have three more questions for you please.

1. Is the East Coast Road up to Calcutta comparable to NH 8 in terms of traffic and condition ?

2. Will entering and exiting Calcutta not cost me time, is it not better to bye-pass this behemoth ?

3. Would you recumbent NH 34 or the Dumka - Purnia route post Calcutta ?

Thank you once again,

regards,

Manmohan.

Yes, it will be tough for old people to take 2 long day drives in this summer heat.

NH5 is superb, less traffic than NH8, but facilities are very poor. The only traffic bottlenecks are crossing Vijaywada city (apart from the slowdown in the under-widening Chilakaluripet-Guntur-Vijaywada sector) and messiness crossing Bhubaneswar (lots of flyovers under construction). Be wary of traffic jams at the OR-WB check post at Jaleswar-Sonkania.

You do not have to enter Calcutta. The NH6 (Kona Expressway) which you take from Kharagpur reaches near Howrah/Dankuni & you do not go anywhere near the city, before linking up to the Durgapur Expressway.

I will go with the Dumka-Bhagalpur-Purnea route any day, NH34 is in a bad shape & moreover, that means, going into Calcutta city!

Originally Posted by Carcrazy60

Sikkim is having heavy rains now. The road to Darjeeling has been badly affected.

Is the road to Darjeeling closed?

[Carcrazy60]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Is the road to Darjeeling closed?

There was some accident due to road conditions. Normally they take action fast but you should be prepared for delays.

[petrogeek]

tripadvisor has some options regarding hotels in kharagpur.

[erlebrito]

Wow...

this thread answers so many of my questions... Am leaving from Goa on the 14th Morning for Siliguri... Had originally planned to go through Nagpur - Jamshedpur - Siliguri but now am going to Raichur - by-passing Hyderabad - Vijaywada - Bhubaneshwar - Siliguri...

Would love to know the nice places where I could stop along the way...

Incidentally, I have put up my travel plans on the Route/Travel Queries page and have received a reply immediately but now having gone through this thread, I am convinced that one of the legs, either going or coming back will have to be on this route...

I will be driving a Skoda Yeti with my wife and two boys, 11 and 4, who are seasoned travellers...

Please give me more inputs as I have a very short time and need as much as possible in terms of details for the trip...

many thanks in advance...

Erle

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by erlebrito

Wow...

this thread answers so many of my questions... Am leaving from Goa on the 14th Morning for Siliguri... Had originally planned to go through Nagpur - Jamshedpur - Siliguri but now am going to Raichur - by-passing Hyderabad - Vijaywada - Bhubaneshwar - Siliguri...

Would love to know the nice places where I could stop along the way...

Incidentally, I have put up my travel plans on the Route/Travel Queries page and have received a reply immediately but now having gone through this thread, I am convinced that one of the legs, either going or coming back will have to be on this route...

I will be driving a Skoda Yeti with my wife and two boys, 11 and 4, who are seasoned travellers...

Please give me more inputs as I have a very short time and need as much as possible in terms of details for the trip...

many thanks in advance...

Erle

Going via Vijawada is the best route option.
Please note to go via Calcutta from Kharagpur to Durgapur & not the Medinpur-Bishnupur-Durgapur route.
The Dumka route is the best to go from Calcutta to Siliguri.
Since you are travelling with your wife, please carry proof of your marriage - such as marriage certificate or passport - since hotels refuse accommodation to couples without proof of their association all over West Bengal.

[Carcrazy60]

Originally Posted by erlebrito

Wow...

this thread answers so many of my questions... Am leaving from Goa on the 14th Morning for Siliguri... Had originally planned to go through Nagpur - Jamshedpur - Siliguri but now am going to Raichur - by-passing Hyderabad - Vijaywada - Bhubaneshwar - Siliguri...

Please give me more inputs as I have a very short time and need as much as possible in terms of details for the trip...

many thanks in advance...

Erle

Please carry the pollution certificate. I had my DL checked after a very long while when i went to Siliguri a couple of days ago. I did not have the pollution certificate , but the inspector graciously allowed me to get it done and did not fine me. The fine in West Bengal is a whopping Rs 1500/00. Even new cars are fined after three months.

[erlebrito]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Going via Vijawada is the best route option.
Please note to go via Calcutta from Kharagpur to Durgapur & not the Medinpur-Bishnupur-Durgapur route.
The Dumka route is the best to go from Calcutta to Siliguri.
Since you are travelling with your wife, please carry proof of your marriage - such as marriage certificate or passport - since hotels refuse accommodation to couples without proof of their association all over West Bengal.

Have made the changes and will be doing it as per the discussions on this forum.

Thanks so much.

WIll have our passports as we plan to go into Bhutan too. So my wife will be officially my wife. Also have my kids with me - so adds more credence.(Just joking!)

Originally Posted by Carcrazy60

Please carry the pollution certificate. I had my DL checked after a very long while when i went to Siliguri a couple of days ago. I did not have the pollution certificate , but the inspector graciously allowed me to get it done and did not fine me. The fine in West Bengal is a whopping Rs 1500/00. Even new cars are fined after three months.

Very valid as I do not have the pollution certificate and it is not really an issue in Goa. Will get it done immediately.

Thanks very much

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by Carcrazy60

Please carry the pollution certificate. I had my DL checked after a very long while when i went to Siliguri a couple of days ago. I did not have the pollution certificate , but the inspector graciously allowed me to get it done and did not fine me. The fine in West Bengal is a whopping Rs 1500/00. Even new cars are fined after three months.

I will say thank your lucky stars.

We had gone to Tarapeeth in '02. The Car's PUC had expired by just 3 days. The Officer (despite pleading) seized the papers & asked it to get them from Court after paying fine.

Boy, am I glad that it was a rented Car

[1100D]

Originally Posted by manmohanmaan

I will be traveling in a SUV with a overhead Lugguage Box (Thule) which increases the height of the vehicle substantially.

is this OK ? Any suggestions on Better Hotels in Kharagpur ?

Regards.

Manmohan.

Good that you mentioned this upfront, that you have a thule box on your SUV. Do not take take the byepass at Bhagalpur, go straight to the flyover through the main city/railway station. The Byepass route at Bhagalpur goes under 2 railway u/p's which a thule box atop a SUV wont make it.

An option to stop over, to stopping at Kharagpur is Sher-e-Punjab at Kolkaghat around 60kms on NH6 towards Kolkata, though a little noisy due to heavy restaurant business they run there. Otherwise drive another 40kms or so to Dhulagarh, for Motel Midway as HVK suggested. Its just after the Toll-plaza on the right side, so you have to drive down about a km, take a u turn and head back to Midway.

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Since you are travelling with your wife, please carry proof of your marriage - such as marriage certificate or passport - since hotels refuse accommodation to couples without proof of their association all over West Bengal.

The two boys, 11 and 4 are his proof of association.

[Sheel]

I am aware of what funkykar had to go through. I believe having a voter card with husband's name should be proof enough, no? (If one has it)

BTW, I would be very soon applying for marriage registration & because of so many process involved at the district level, I am going via the block (panchayat) way.

[Carcrazy60]

Originally Posted by Sheel

I am aware of what funkykar had to go through. I believe having a voter card with husband's name should be proof enough, no? (If one has it)

BTW, I would be very soon applying for marriage registration & because of so many process involved at the district level, I am going via the block (panchayat) way.

I had used my wife's pan card in the New Cindrella hotel in Siliguri. Which are the other reasonable places to stay in Siliguri? The food even though vegetarian is rather good there.

The registration idea is a good one though.

[erlebrito]

Originally Posted by 1100D

Good that you mentioned this upfront, that you have a thule box on your SUV. Do not take take the byepass at Bhagalpur, go straight to the flyover through the main city/railway station. The Byepass route at Bhagalpur goes under 2 railway u/p's which a thule box atop a SUV wont make it.

An option to stop over, to stopping at Kharagpur is Sher-e-Punjab at Kolkaghat around 60kms on NH6 towards Kolkata, though a little noisy due to heavy restaurant business they run there. Otherwise drive another 40kms or so to Dhulagarh, for Motel Midway as HVK suggested. Its just after the Toll-plaza on the right side, so you have to drive down about a km, take a u turn and head back to Midway.



The two boys, 11 and 4 are his proof of association.

I think that is more than a proof- ;-)